Thank you for visiting our forum. As a guest, you have limited access to view some discussion and articles. By joining our free community, you will be able to view all discussions and articles, post your own topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload photos, participate in Pick'Em contests and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today!!

South Carolina (11-7-1) is set to battle instate rival Clemson (12-3-5) in the Second Round of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday night at Riggs Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The Tigers are the No. 3 national seed in this year's NCAA Tournament.

"It's always good to advance in the tournament, and I'm very proud of our guys," said Head Coach Mark Berson. "Our match with Clemson this year was close and hard-fought. We look forward to a rematch on Sunday."

Sunday night's showdown will be the sixth career NCAA match between the two storied programs. The all-time series in the NCAA Tournament is tied at 2-2-1. Only one game has been played at Stone Stadium, with Clemson winning 1-0 in the Second Round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament. That game also marks the last time the two teams have met in the postseason.

The Gamecocks own a 2-1-1 all-time record in NCAA play at Riggs Field. The last time the two teams played at Clemson in the tournament was 1993 in the NCAA Second Round. Carolina won 3-2 in front of 6,720 fans after scoring two goals in the game's opening 20 minutes. The Gamecocks' win marked the first time in program history that the Tigers had been beaten twice at home in the same season.

Earlier this season, Clemson downed South Carolina 2-1 in Columbia. The Tigers struck first in the 14th minute when Austen Burnikel took a cross into the box and placed it low to the far side for a 1-0 lead. 59 seconds later senior Kevin Walker evened the score at 1-1 with his first goal of the season. Clemson regained the lead in the 27th minute on a free kick by Aaron Jones. Carolina held a 13-6 advantage in shots and 8-5 edge in corners.

6,892 fans attended the match, which set a new single-game attendance record at The Graveyard.

The Tigers lead the all-time series 26-17-1 after their win back in August. Carolina is 0-3 in its last three road matches in the series.

Gates open at 5 p.m. on Sunday at Riggs Field. Reserved seats are $8. General admission tickets are $6 (adults) and $4 (youth).

SCOUTING No. 3 Clemson

The Tigers are the No. 3 national seed in this year's NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. Clemson finished No. 2 in the final RPI standings released by the NCAA. Diego Campos leads the team with 15 points (6G, 3A). He's tallied 52 shots and 26 SOG to the lead the team. Aaron Jones is second on the team with nine points (3G, 3A). Jones scored the game-winner in the 27th minute against Carolina in Clemson's 2-1 win on Aug. 26 to kickoff the season. South Carolina held a 13-6 advantage in the shot column and an 8-5 advantage in corner kicks in the first meeting. Goalkeeper Zimo Miralles is one of the nation's best. His 0.68 goals against average and .822 save percentage both rank in the top-20 nationally amongst goalies. He's logged 60 saves and has 10 shutouts on the year. The Tigers .55 shutout percentage is No. 8 in the nation. Clemson is one of the country's top defensive teams.

Also just to clarify on the seedings, since it's confusing if you don't pay close attention - in the men's tournament, the top 16 teams are seeded 1-16, so Clemson's #3 is #3 overall.

For the women, the Top 16 are also seeded, but 1-4 in each of 4 brackets, so when we played BYU last night and it was listed #1 vs. #4, that was within our bracket, not overall (although the teams were actually ranked #3 and #4 overall, which further added to potential confusion to anyone who cares)